In the group’s trading update, quarter 4 mortgage volumes were up 6% to 19,041 year-on-year but house exchanges through its estate agency arm fell 2% to 16,534. Its London and Premier brand saw a more dramatic drop of 14% to 1,569 transactions.
At the start of December the government changed the way Stamp Duty would be calculated abolishing the slab structure which forced homeowners to pay a single rate of tax on their entire property depending on which band its value fell into.
At the same time, the Treasury revised the rates and bands which it said would result in a cut in tax for 98% for people who were eligible to pay it.
For those buying a home for less than £937,500 the changes mean they would pay less Stamp Duty or the same. The biggest impact will be felt by those purchasing high value homes, more common in London and the South East.
Homes worth £1,500,001 and over are now subject to a Stamp Duty rate of 12%.
In its statement Countrywide said the Q4 slowdown in the London and Premier offices was a reflection of the caution being exercised by London buyers. It added that while the tax should be beneficial to the wider market in the long term, for Greater London, the effects were uncertain.
